Welcome to DBSTalk

Welcome to DBSTalk. Our community covers all aspects of video delivery solutions including: Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), Cable Television, and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). We also have forums to discuss popular television programs, home theater equipment, and internet streaming service providers. Members of our community include experts who can help you solve technical problems, industry professionals, company representatives, and novices who are here to learn.

Like most online communities you must register to view or post in our community. Sign-up is a free and simple process that requires minimal information. Be a part of our community by signing in or creating an account. The Digital Bit Stream starts here!

2 year contract is over

I've been with DirecTv ever since 1997. Back in July of 2009 I upgraded all of my receivers because the ones I had were old and could not see some channels anymore. I upgraded them all and 2 were upgraded to HD. Well it is July of 2011 and this is the end of my 2 year commitment. It is up this month. What I am trying to find out is will i still have to continue to pay the $6 fee for the "Leased" receivers since my 2 year commitment is now fulfilled?

I've been with DirecTv ever since 1997. Back in July of 2009 I upgraded all of my receivers because the ones I had were old and could not see some channels anymore. I upgraded them all and 2 were upgraded to HD. Well it is July of 2011 and this is the end of my 2 year commitment. It is up this month. What I am trying to find out is will i still have to continue to pay the $6 fee for the "Leased" receivers since my 2 year commitment is now fulfilled?

Yes....it's not really a lease fee....it's a mirror fee.....your programming is mirrored from you main box (the free one) to the rest of your boxes at $6 per box. I'd rather pay the mirror fee than a separate programming fee for each box I have.

Ok So Those receivers don't become mine then? I was thinking after paying for them for 2 years they were now mine and that I would only have to pay DirecTv for the programming. So I'm basically still going to have to pay $6 a month for each receiver I have in Use? Man I was hoping to start saving those $6 payments a month on each of my receivers. Guess I'll still have a little bit higher bill.

No, they are still leased. Those who actually do own them still pay the $6, but they have the flexibility of activating and deactivating that receiver at will, so they can have it activated when they have guests staying for example. Afterward they can deactivate the receiver and not pay the $6 anymore and put the receiver in storage until next time. Or they can legally sell them.

Yes, my mom pays by check, and they take DirecTv bill out of her checking account each month, and send her a statement in the mail showing all the details, and how much they took out. She gets the Free HD.

Ok So Those receivers don't become mine then? I was thinking after paying for them for 2 years they were now mine and that I would only have to pay DirecTv for the programming. So I'm basically still going to have to pay $6 a month for each receiver I have in Use? Man I was hoping to start saving those $6 payments a month on each of my receivers. Guess I'll still have a little bit higher bill.

It is actually a plus having LEASED receivers. Here's why.

With your old owned receivers, you still paid the same price each month ($6) to have them on your account-your bill just said "additional receiver" instead of "leased receiver". But if they broke down, you would have to pay full price to repair or replace them. With your leased receivers, if they break down you can get a replacement from DirecTV for only $20 to cover shipping and handling-and NO NEW COMMITMENT if this happens.

Yep, but my Sony SD Tivo DVR Series 1 is still going strong. Hard drive is usually what goes out, and I always keep the original Tivo drive/software and copy it to a bigger drive for actual use. If the bigger drive ever fails, I just copy the original to another one.

At various times in the past, TiVo has had special offers to transfer lifetime subscriptions to new devices; it also gets transferred if there's a warranty replacement. I got a Series 1 Sony TiVo in January 2001 and bought a lifetime subscription with it -- that subscription has been transferred four or five times, and is currently active on an HD TiVo that my father uses with FiOS.

Ok So Those receivers don't become mine then? I was thinking after paying for them for 2 years they were now mine and that I would only have to pay DirecTv for the programming. So I'm basically still going to have to pay $6 a month for each receiver I have in Use? Man I was hoping to start saving those $6 payments a month on each of my receivers. Guess I'll still have a little bit higher bill.

I find it hard to believe that you've been a member of the forum for more than 8 years, with nearly 1,500 posts, and yet you are unaware of this basic information. Oh well.